What's the minimum amount of sold stocks required to report for taxes?

Every stock sale needs to be reported on your tax return, regardless of the amount. There's no minimum threshold. Your brokerage will send you a Form 1099-B by late January/early February showing all your stock transactions for the year. The 1099-B will show your proceeds (what you sold the stock for), but might not always show what you paid (your "cost basis"). Some brokerages report the complete information, while others don't. That's why it's important to keep your own records of purchase prices. For tracking, I'd suggest creating a simple spreadsheet with dates of purchase, purchase price, dates of sale, and sale price. Or you can use one of the many investment tracking apps available that can help manage this information.

I was in the same boat last year - total beginner with a few small trades. After looking everywhere for answers, I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that was super helpful for figuring out my stock reporting situation. It basically analyzed my trading history and explained exactly what I needed to report. The thing that was most helpful is that it showed me which transactions would trigger tax events and which wouldn't. I had no idea that just moving stocks between brokerages isn't taxable, but even tiny gains from sales need to be reported. The site also explained wash sales which I had accidently triggered without realizing.

Just wanted to update after checking out taxr.ai from my earlier question. It was actually pretty eye-opening! I've been doing small trades all year and had no idea about some of the tax implications. The system found several wash sales I didn't know about and showed me that my broker had been reporting some cost basis information incorrectly. It explained everything in plain English instead of tax jargon. Definitely made me feel more confident about reporting my stock transactions this year. I'm still down overall on my investments (lol) but at least now I understand how to report everything properly!

If you're confused about tax reporting for stocks, you're definitely not alone! Last year I spent HOURS trying to get through to the IRS for clarification on some stock reporting issues. Kept getting disconnected or stuck on hold forever. Finally found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent walked me through exactly how to report my stock sales, including some losses I wasn't sure how to handle. Was honestly shocked it worked since I'd been trying to get through for weeks on my own.

I need to eat my words from my comment above. I was super skeptical about Claimyr but after waiting on hold with the IRS for 2+ hours and getting disconnected TWICE, I gave it a shot. It actually worked exactly as advertised. Their system navigated all the prompts and waited on hold, then called me when an agent was ready. Spoke with a helpful IRS rep who confirmed that yes, you need to report ALL stock sales regardless of amount, and explained how to properly document my wash sales. Saved me literally hours of frustration. Sometimes being wrong feels pretty good!

Pro tip: If your broker is decent, they'll track all your cost basis info and include it on your 1099-B form. Companies like Fidelity, Vanguard, etc. make this super easy because they report your full cost basis to the IRS automatically. RobinHood and some of the app-based platforms aren't as reliable with complete cost basis reporting IMO. That's when you need to be extra careful about tracking your purchases and sales yourself.

You might actually be able to use your overall losses to offset that small gain. If you're down overall for the year, you can report up to $3,000 in net capital losses against your other income, which could lower your taxes. Don't miss out on claiming those losses!

Great question! As someone who's been through this exact situation, I can confirm what others have said - you do need to report ALL stock sales regardless of the amount. Even that $4 gain needs to be reported. Here's what I wish someone had told me when I started: keep a simple spreadsheet from day one with purchase date, purchase price, sale date, and sale price for every transaction. Don't rely solely on your broker's records - sometimes they get the cost basis wrong or don't have complete information, especially if you transferred stocks from another account. Also, since you mentioned you're down overall, make sure you're aware of the wash sale rule. If you sell a stock at a loss and buy the same stock (or substantially identical security) within 30 days before or after the sale, you can't claim that loss for tax purposes. This trips up a lot of new investors. Your broker will send you Form 1099-B by the end of January showing all your transactions. Most tax software can import this directly, but double-check the numbers against your own records. Good luck with your investing journey!